This handbook has been developed to provide information on the quality and reliability aspects of the components supplied by Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI). TI maintains a diverse portfolio of products to supply our customers worldwide and is a leader among the remaining broad portfolio suppliers in the world today. This broad spectrum of products encompasses, but is not limited to, Digital Signal Processing, High Performance Analog, Standard Linear and Logic, Digital Light Processing, Power and Custom and Application Specific Products coupled with a full array of package technologies.

These quality-related materials were originally created for internal TI use as a benchmark for performance, and internally they define TI's quality goals. The handbook does not constitute product specification. TI works hard to follow these procedures and internal "requirements," and seeks to provide to customers accurate, up to date information about its products and quality processes, but we cannot guarantee that we will be successful in every case, or that we will successfully update these materials in every case, without errors or inaccuracies. Consequently, THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" and TI must disclaim all implied or express warranties that might be contained in these materials, including but not limited to any warranties of fitness for any purpose, title and non-infringement of intellectual property rights.

We believe the Texas Instruments approach to quality and reliability will result in our customers recognizing our corporate commitment to quality. We realize that we could not achieve lasting quality without the effectiveness of a well structured reliability program.

If there are any questions concerning the contents of this handbook, please contact TI through the Product Information Centers (PIC) at www.ti.com.

1.0 Introduction

Texas Instruments creates, manufactures and markets a diverse portfolio of thousands of integrated circuits. We offer our customers a single source of supply for virtually all of their component needs. TI's portfolio of products is among the most stable within the semiconductor industry due to its breadth, long market life cycles, and substantial diversity.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, TI is a public company employing approximately 30,000 people worldwide with manufacturing facilities around the globe. TI enjoys a strong quality heritage and was the first major semiconductor company to achieve an enterprise registration under ISO 9001. TI has been awarded virtually every prestigious quality award from around the world; the Deming Prize in Japan, the Singapore Quality Award, The European Quality Award (EFQM), Malcolm Baldridge, STACK Gold Supplier, Ford TQE and the list goes on.

The Texas Instruments Quality Policy states,

We will achieve business excellence by:-Encouraging and expecting the creative involvement of every TIer.-Listening to our customers and meeting their needs.-Continuously improving our processes, products and services.

Customer satisfaction and continuous improvement inspire customer confidence in TI; these are the foundation of customer relationships. Quality resolve is deeply ingrained in every employee. TI understands that for any manufacturer to succeed, its products must meet and consistently surpass the stringent demands and needs of its customer base.

At TI, quality and reliability monitors are performed on major categories of semiconductor products. These monitors are designed to test the product's design and material as well as to identify and eliminate potential failure mechanisms. The goal of the ongoing monitor is to provide reliable component performance in real world applications and to identify trends that enable TI to continuously improve products. In addition, the data can also be utilized by our customers for failure rate predictions. This handbook is intended to be a compilation of quality and reliability test protocol. Detailed reliability reports for a given product line or component type are available upon request and can be obtained through your local TI Customer Representative or from the TI Product Information Center.

2.0 The TI Quality System

The quality philosophy of TI is based on the principles established by Patrick E. Haggerty, one of the company's founders. Pat Haggerty's operating philosophy was that Texas Instruments exists to create, make, and market useful products and services to satisfy the needs of its customers throughout the world. This philosophy has stood the test of time and provided the foundation for many enhancements in TI's quality journey.

Quality System Manual (QSM)
The purpose of the TI Quality System is to define the minimum business processes and to implement a fundamental quality operating system to satisfy customer needs. This system is focused on improvement in all aspects of our business and is comprised of uniquely TI requirements. These requirements add value for our internal operations as well as external customers and further build on our strong business operating systems.

ISO 9000 / TS 16949
The TI Quality System defines the minimum quality requirements for all worldwide operations. It is based on recognized industry and international standards, such as International Standardization Organization (ISO) 9000 and Technical Specification (TS) 16949. TI conducts annual, mandatory internal audits to monitor compliance with these requirements and to drive continual improvement.

TI has been certified to ISO 9000 since 1986 and TS 16949 since 2004. Currently TI enjoys certification under one enterprise wide certificate. This one certification covers all manufacturing sites, marketing and design groups worldwide.

Audits
In 1985 TI initiated a group audit function, chartered to conduct audits of quality procedures and compliance worldwide. All audits are conducted for three purposes: (1) to confirm alignment of the local operational specifications with the quality system, (2) to establish the validity and integrity of process- and product-quality monitors, and (3) to measure compliance of operations with the local specifications as a gauge of manufacturing discipline and engineering integrity.

Policy deployment
Policy deployment is a fundamental part of TI's strategic quality planning process. The annual process is employed to establish, deploy, and implement actions to address the Semiconductor Group's priorities. It is the process used to define the tactics required to close excellence gaps and to drive results.

Policy deployment is used to:

Communicate the group's vision and priorities to all levels of the organization.

Provide a structure for developing and supporting plans and tactics that lead to the achievement of the priorities and excellence goals.

Increase communication and interaction among all employees and across all functions so that each individual may understand his/her role in the achievement of the group goals.

Concentrate resources on customer priority issues and chronic problems that are barriers to achieving excellence.

Provide a management review process for assuring that projects are meeting plans and that recognition is given for success.

Statistical Process Control (SPC)
SPC is used to improve overall process capability and to minimize process variability. Key objectives of SPC include:

Control processes on a day-to-day basis

Improve process capability (Cp)

Reduce variability to target values (Cpk)

Eliminate abnormal or outlier lots

Achieve dependable delivery

Lower cost of quality

TI continually strives to find new ways to improve product quality and is committed to the use of SPC. Our operators are trained to use and employ process control techniques which lead to significant process improvements.

Process variability leads to product variability in manufacturing. Statistical process control (SPC) is used in all phases of manufacturing to replace variability with predictability. Whereas the traditional philosophy in the semiconductor industry enables final test to determine component acceptability as measured by data sheet specifications, TI uses SPC to assure that parts are being built to a specific process target throughout the manufacturing cycle. The emphasis in SPC is placed on defect prevention, not detection. By having excellence in design, process, and material procurement and selection, coupled with manufacturing excellence, TI produces high quality and highly reliable products.

Recognize and evaluate the potential failure modes and causes associated with the designing and manufacturing of a product.

Identify actions that could eliminate or reduce the chance of a potential failure from occurring.

Document the process.

FMEA is a complementary tool to the design process for defining what a design must do to satisfy the customer. One of the most important factors for the successful implementation of an FMEA program is timeliness. When properly applied, it is an interactive circular process that is never ending.

Customer Satisfaction
TI is engaged in a very competitive global marketplace. We will not grow if we continue to focus only on our heritage and our past accomplishments. We continually strive to understand our customers' needs for service and support by focusing on customer service. A key factor here is the feedback we receive on the quality of our products and services. We need to understand this so that we will be able to anticipate solutions to product and service needs our customers have yet to recognize. That means listening to their ideas about how we can better serve them from a total system's perspective – from idea introduction to successful delivery of product or service. How will we determine this? By asking how customers perceive TI in terms of quality and by asking them about their expectations of TI. This is accomplished by conducting routine quality surveys and the use of customer scorecards to provide this feedback. The objectives accomplished through the surveys are:

Continual strengthening of our next generation business operating system by determining our customers' current business expectations.

Track changing expectations in order to modify our quality system accordingly.

Provide a basis for a consistent set of customer satisfaction metrics that provides a check of our internal quality measurements.

Therefore, each business must develop customer driven indices – using factors established by the customer – and set aggressive improvement goals. These are expected to change over time as customer expectations evolve.

Customer Representation and Advocacy
Each business segment has Customer Quality Representatives that represent the customer in each internal organization to facilitate communications and provide resolution of quality problems. They collaborate with the customer to understand their quality requirements and expectations and then establish TI procedures to serve our customers' needs and improve relationships. Results of customer scorecards are reported to the organization with actions taken to improve the reported metrics. They also coordinate efforts with the sales team and factory on any or all of the following elements:

3.0 Standard Reliability and Qualification Tests

For semiconductors, the often critical nature of the equipment in which they are used makes quality especially important. TI's goal for semiconductor design is always that the resulting components far outlast the life expectancy of the equipment for which they are intended and careful processing helps each component to meet the specifications to which it is designed.

All TI products undergo qualification and reliability testing (or qualification by similarity justification) prior to being released as production material. The reliability and quality methods identified herein contribute to the attainment of Six Sigma performance in all of our operations.

Reliability Stress Tests
The table below lists the reliability tests available within TI which are typically used for product development and qualification as deemed appropriate.

Texas Instruments Test Specifications

Test Description

Source

Method

Equivalent AEC Spec.

Acoustic Microscopy

JEDEC STD 35

N/A

N/A

Autoclave

JEDEC STD 22

A102

N/A

Biased Humidity (THB/HAST)

JEDEC STD 22

A101/A110

N/A

Biased Operating Life (HTOL)

JEDEC STD 22

A108

N/A

BLR (TC)

IPC

9701

N/A

Bump Shear

N/A

N/A

N/A

Constant Acceleration

QSS 009-009

2001

N/A

Die Shear

MIL STD 883

2019

N/A

Early Failure Rate

JEDEC STD 74

----

Q100-008

ESD (CDM)

JEDEC STD 22

C101

Q100-011

ESD (HBM)

ANSI/ESDA/JEDEC JS

2010

Q100-002

Flammability

U.L.

94V0

N/A

Gate Leakage

NA

NA

Q100-006

Wire Bond Shear

JEDEC STD 22

B116

Q100-001

Wire Bond Pull

MIL STD 883

2011

N/A

High temp Storage Life

JEDEC STD 22

A103

N/A

Latch-Up

JEDEC STD 78

----

Q100-004

Lead Bend

MIL STD 883

2004

N/A

Lead Fatigue

MIL STD 883

2004

N/A

Lead Finish Adhesion

MIL STD 883

2025

N/A

Lead Pull

MIL STD 883

2004

N/A

Lid Torque

MIL STD 883

2024

N/A

Low Temp Storage Life

JEDEC STD 22

A119

N/A

Mechanical Shock

JEDEC STD 22

B104

N/A

Moisture Sensitivity

JEDEC J-STD-020

----

N/A

Physical Dimensions

JEDEC STD 22

B100

N/A

P.I.N.D.

MIL STD 883

2020

N/A

Power Temperature Cycle

JEDEC STD 22

A105

N/A

Preconditioning

JEDEC STD 22

A113

N/A

Resistance to Solvents

JEDEC STD 22

B107

N/A

Salt Atmosphere

JEDEC STD 22

A107

N/A

Seal

MIL STD 883

1014

N/A

Soft Error Rate

JEDEC STD 89

N/A

N/A

Solder Ball Shear

JEDEC STD 22

B117

N/A

Solder Heat

JEDEC STD 22

B106

N/A

Solderability (Dip and Look)

JEDEC STD 22

B102

N/A

Solderability (Fine Pitch)

JEDEC STD 22

B102

N/A

Steam Aging

MIL STD 883

2003

N/A

Temperature Cycle

JEDEC STD 22

A104

N/A

Thermal Impedance

MIL STD 883

1012

N/A

Thermal Shock

JEDEC STD 22

A106

N/A

Vibration, Variable Frequency

JEDEC STD 22

B103

N/A

Wave Solderability

JEDEC STD 22

A111

N/A

Write/Erase Endurance

JEDEC STD 22

A117

Q100-005

Note: Not all of the tests listed are performed on each product but are performed when appropriate.

Texas Instruments uses Industry Standard tests as per the table above. Details regarding a specific reliability test can be found on the Industry Standard web sites or by contacting TI.

4.0 Reliability Testing and Analysis

TI performs extensive reliability stress testing on components that span the full breadth of our product portfolio. Reliability data is collected as part of the TI Ongoing Reliability Monitoring Program and as part of the normal product qualification process. The data is continuously updated and can be made available to customers on a request basis.

Failure Rate
As defined, reliability is the probability a component will perform its specified function for a specified time period under specified environmental conditions. In general, reliability can be thought of as maintaining acceptable quality performance over time and environmental conditions. A key characteristic of reliability is the hazard rate h(t). The hazard rate roughly represents the rate components will fail as a function of time. The most widely used probability distributions for analyzing semiconductor component reliability data are the exponential and Weibull distributions. For modern semiconductor components, the failure rates are extremely low and the failure rate is presented in units of FIT, where FIT is the number of failures per billion component–hours.

In order to account for the uncertainty due to calculating the failure rate based on a sample, one must apply confidence limits to the point estimate. The relevant confidence interval for component reliability calculations is the one–sided upper confidence interval of the failure rate. The one–sided upper confidence interval provides an estimate of the failure rate that is unlikely to be exceeded by any given point estimate at a given confidence level. The appropriate sampling distribution for the failure rate of the exponential distribution is the chi–square (?2) distribution. This means if one were to calculate the failure rate of many independent samples drawn from the same exponential population, then the distribution of the point estimates of the failure rate would follow a chi-square distribution.

Accelerated Stress Testing
Due to continuing process improvements and advances in component and package technologies, the failure rate of semiconductor components is extremely low. To accurately assess the reliability of these components, our reliability engineers routinely use accelerated stress test conditions during reliability testing. These test conditions are carefully chosen to accelerate the failure mechanisms that are expected to occur under normal use conditions without introducing spurious failure mechanisms. Accelerated stress testing is used to provide estimates of component reliability performance under use conditions, and to assist in identifying opportunities for improving the reliability performance of the component. Failure mechanisms found during stress testing are traced to the root cause and eliminated, whenever possible.

The most commonly used stress accelerator is temperature. In most cases, elevated temperature increases the rate at which a given failure mechanism progresses. There are a few failure mechanisms that are accelerated by using lower temperatures. The simplest thermal acceleration model used by TI is the Arrhenius equation. Using the Arrhenius equation, the failure rate at one stress condition is compared to the failure rate at a different stress condition. The acceleration factors defined by reliability engineering are used to transform the stress testing time into the equivalent time at a typical use junction temperature.

Activation Energies
In order to calculate an acceleration factor from Stress Test conditions to Use conditions for those failure modes that are temperature accelerated, an activation energy is used in the derating models. Typically the Arrhenius equation is used where the Acceleration Factor (AF) is defined by

AF = exp (-Ea/kT)

where Ea is the activation Energy, K is the Boltzmann's constant and T is the difference in temperature (deg Kelvin) between the stress temperature and the use temperature.

TI typically uses the industry–standard estimates for activation energies that are documented in EIA/JEDEC Publication 122, "Failure Mechanisms and Models for Silicon Semiconductor Devices." In addition TI will use values based on knowledge-based models. The following table summarizes the most commonly used activation energies.

Other accelerators used are voltage for life test, temperature cycles (both maximum and minimum temperatures, ramp rates and dwell times) for mechanical testing and temperature and humidity for corrosion.

Thermal Resistance
Circuit performance and long–term circuit reliability are affected by die temperature. Normally, both are improved by keeping the junction temperatures low. Electrical power dissipated in any semiconductor component is a source of heat. This heat source increases the temperature of the die above some reference point, normally the ambient temperature of 25C in still air. The temperature increase depends on the amount of power dissipated in the circuit and on the net thermal resistance between the heat source and the reference point.

The temperature at the junction depends on the packaging and mounting system's ability to remove heat generated in the circuit from the junction region to the ambient environment. Please see TI's application note IC Package Thermal Metrics SPRA953A for more details in how to use and measure the Thermal Resistance of a package.

Air Flow
Air flow over the packages reduces the thermal resistance of the package, permitting a corresponding increase in power dissipation without exceeding the maximum allowed operating junction temperature. For thermal resistance values for specific packages, please see the respective component data sheet or contact your local TI sales office.

5.0 Customer Process Change Notification

TI has established a system, compliant with JESD46C, which notifies our customer base in a timely fashion of product or process changes that affect form, fit, or function, or adversely impact product quality or reliability. The Change Notification Process identifies changes to the customer a minimum of 90 days prior to a change, and provides feedback channels for sample requests, data, and acknowledgments among other requests, at all points in the overall process.

End of Life (EOL) notifications are handled in accordance with JESD48, latest issue. TI provides 12 months lead time for the last order and an additional 6 months to take final delivery of obsolete items.

Changes or additions to our PCN / EOL contacts can be made by contacting the appropriate Customer Quality Engineer or TI's PCN team at pcn_ww_admin_team@list.ti.com.

6.0 Customer Returns

All customer returns are treated seriously at TI. Customers are encouraged to contact TI directly to determine the appropriate course of action in initiating returns or launching some type of product investigation. For customers who wish to return parts to TI, there is an established method for initiating and processing returns via TI's Customer Return Material process. For information on how to process returns, please contact your customer service representative, TI authorized distributor or TI's Product Information Center. Once returns are received at TI, they undergo appropriate testing and analysis to confirm customer concerns.

We communicate with the customer throughout the process which includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Failure Analysis

Problem Notification & Submission by Customer

Receipt of Samples at TI

Initial Problem Verification

Complete Failure or Problem Analysis

Complete Final Corrective Action Plan

Corrective & Preventive Actions Implemented & Verified

Customer Incident Process Map

Customer Incidents are tracked in our Customer Incident information system. Monthly customer incident metrics are compiled and distributed corporate–wide. Responsiveness metrics are used to drive continuous improvement in the Cycle Time arena. Failure Mechanism pareto's are used to drive continuous improvement in the various Quality areas. These metrics are reviewed monthly and quarterly with the Business Units & Manufacturing Operations.

7.0 Failure Analysis

Failure analysis (FA) is a process which entails vast analytical methods and techniques to solve the reliability and quality issues that may occur in either the manufacturing or application of our products. The process can be a rather complicated endeavor due to the many aspects associated with the ever advancing semiconductor and packaging technologies and the numerous engineering disciplines involved. The FA engineer or FA analysts must be proficient in design, process, assembly, test, and applications, which may require knowledge of physics, electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineering.

At TI, labs are equipped with a diverse range of instrumentation and engineering expertise to solve problems in all aspects of semiconductor and packaging analysis. The success of failure analysis is not only in a superior instrumentation set, but in its people and their approach to problem solving. While the failure analysis lab may be able to identify a failure mechanism, the road to root cause is just embarked upon. Depending on component and manufacturing process complexity, root cause analysis may require extensive designed experimentation to not only identify the root cause but also verify potential corrective action effectiveness. The full process of problem solving may entail multiple labs and techniques. Failure Analysis professionals along with subject matter experts work collaboratively to solve the problem.

Analysis laboratories are available globally at all TI manufacturing sites to support customer returns, reliability failures, manufacturing fallout and design support. These same analytical tools are utilized for good unit analysis, process characterization, destructive physical analysis, and construction analysis. The various FA sites around the world operate autonomously, but in partnership to share information and resources.

Failure Analysis Process Overview
The following steps outline the basic procedures that a typical field return may be subjected to within the failure analysis lab.

Information Review and Failure confirmation
All customer-generated documentation is retained for review by the analyst. A clear and detailed description of the device history and usage, characteristics of the failure, and any analytical findings prior to the device being returned to TI will aid the investigation and timely resolution of the FA submission. The more information the better! There is a minimum set of background information that greatly impacts the overall quality and cycle time of the problem solving process. The minimum requested information is as follows:

Failure history and failure rate at the customer site, in this application and any other related products. Is this a new product or have any changes occurred in this time frame?

Length of time in application and the conditions under which the failure occurred. Did any other components fail at the same time and if so, how did they fail? Can a schematic be sent? Are there any components of this same date code still available?

The failure mode of the application and how can it be related to this component. How do you perceive that the component is failing (short, open, stuck logic levels, etc.)?

Handling of the component prior to receipt at TI. Precautions should be taken in the removal and handling (ESD) of the components to ensure that electrical or physical damage does not occur and testability of the package is maintained.

Historical databases that exist within TI are also reviewed to provide additional perspective and guidance. After a review of all information, an initial analysis strategy is formed. It should be noted that not all devices, even within the same request, will be analyzed in exactly the same manner. Different analytical approaches may be necessary to reach a better understanding of any failure mechanism.

Finally, confirmation of the reported failure mode should occur prior to further analysis steps. Good correlation to reported failure modes insures confidence in any subsequent findings. Bench-top test ('bench test') equipment, such as curve tracers or application-based bench testing, and production-level automatic test equipment ('ATE') may be used for electrical characterization.

Non–destructive Testing
Failure analysis in itself is reverse engineering and in this vein, destructive in nature to the returned product. Since the package will be at least partially destroyed to expose the die, non–destructive techniques are carried out first to observe package or assembly related mechanisms. The most common techniques used are acoustic microscopy and radiographic (XRAY) inspections to look for internal assembly or molding anomalies.

Internal Inspection
An internal optical inspection is carried out to check for any obvious assembly anomalies or wafer fabrication issues. Re–testing is also recommended to determine if the failure mode has changed.

Global Isolation
In many cases, the internal inspection will not reveal an obvious failure mechanism. Depending on the technology and level of testability, the lab will utilize one or more of the techniques available to isolate the
failure site. The majority of these techniques are attempting to observe the properties of the failure site, as in thermal dissipation or photon emission.

Local Isolation
Locally isolating the failure site to a block or single node on the die is a common, but critical step some analyses and can be a time consuming process. In most cases, extensive internal probing is required and is generally iterative, with deprocessing, layer by layer. Deprocessing is the process of removing one layer of the die at a time, which may entail wet chemistry, dry plasma etching, and mechanical polishing techniques to reveal the underlying structures. The proper techniques are critical due to the destructive nature of the process and the potential loss of vital information. During this process, a combination of probing and other specific techniques to highlight potential anomalies are performed. From a probing standpoint, the use of layout/schematic navigational tools and a focused ion beam (FIB) are employed to assist in component and circuit isolation.

Analysis of Failure Site
Once a potential site has been determined or revealed, documentation and analysis is conducted. Further analytical techniques are employed depending on whether the morphology or material composition is required.

Report Conclusion
Upon completion of the analysis, a written report is generated documenting the work. The report should state the relationship of the physical anomaly to the failure mode. It should also include sufficient documentation for root cause analysis by the manufacturing site if warranted.

Summary
Failure Analysis is a critical step in the process that strives to discover physical evidence that clearly identifies the cause of failure. This evidence is sought through the analysis on a case-by-case basis of failed integrated circuits. Electrical and physical analysis is performed using an array of straightforward but sophisticated analytical measurement systems, bench top equipment, and techniques. Using the appropriate equipment and work processes, the location of the cause of failure is isolated on the die and physically characterized.
Collaboration with other engineering disciplines, e.g., product, test, design, assembly and process, is utilized to move analyses forward. Analysis progress, results and conclusions are communicated to internal and external contacts supporting the Containment and Corrective Action processes to implement changes that will limit and eliminate the cause of failure .
It is TI's intent to satisfy all customer concerns through the FA process and to enable improved customer satisfaction through this effort.

8.0 Supplier Quality Process

Supplier Quality Objective
Supplier Quality is a key element in TI's ability to meet customer expectations. Suppliers have responsibility to fully support TI in achieving this objective and likewise work internally and with their suppliers to achieve this level of support. As one of the few semiconductor companies certified under the ISO/TS 16949:2009 enterprise qualification, TI requires its critical suppliers to be certified to ISO 9001:2008 with a plan for direct material suppliers to achieve conformity to ISO/TS 16949:2009. Direct material is defined as material for use in the manufacturing process and becomes part of the component or is used in the shipment of product. Any quality certification exceptions due to TI Business requirements will be identified in the certification library.

Expectations
TI suppliers will use an assessment process that supports the development of a Quality Management System (QMS). TI expects suppliers to develop their QMS to provide for continual improvement, defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain. As customer expectations increase, supplier performance is expected to be world class. Two resources that outline TI's supplier expectations can be found on the Worldwide Procurement and Logistics website, http://wpl.ext.ti.com and then accessing the following documents:

Measurement Criteria

Suppliers are measured using multiple criteria which includes but is not limited to the criteria outlined below. Suppliers are encouraged to contact their TI account manager and/or buyer for category specific requirements.

Quality Certification

ISO 9001:2008 or ISO/TS 16949:2009.

Delivered Product Quality

Accuracy of Certificates of Acceptance and Compliance

Reject rate in PPM

Yield Issues

Yield Issues

Yield Issues

Customer Disruptions, Alerts or Internal Alerts

Supplier Quality Issues:

Disruption of a TI Customer in which root cause is assigned to a supplier.

TI Quality Alerts

TI Internal Quality Alerts

Corrective Action Response – Suppliers are expected to provide immediate notification to TI of any problem(s) and to likewise respond when notified by TI of any problem. Subsequent follow up on containment of problems is also expected until a resolution is reached. Part of corrective action also includes identification of root cause, implementation and verification of corrective action, and identification of actions required to prevent recurrence.

Qualification and Change Notification – Suppliers are responsible for evaluating any changes to a process that may affect form, fit, function, quality or reliability of materials supplied to TI. No changes to processes or shipment of product affected by the changes will be made without sufficient advance notice to TI.

9.0 External Manufacturing Quality

TI utilizes wafer foundry and assembly subcontractor partners to support our customers' increasing requirements for high quality, low cost semiconductors. Our global wafer foundry and assembly subcontractor partners perform some or all areas of semiconductor manufacturing. This includes wafer fabrication, wafer probe, assembly, test, as well as product analysis, and reliability testing. When TI selects a new manufacturing partner, this requires an extensive review of the company's ability to meet our high quality, business and technical requirements. We also look for partners that can grow with TI and its customers.

For current manufacturing partners, continuous improvement plans are required which outline aggressive improvement goals. Progress against these goals is reviewed on a periodic basis.

The new product introduction and process change control requirements and specifications are the same for internal TI factories as well as our external manufacturing partners. Quality systems vary from partner to partner; however, TI requires each supplier to manufacture our products with the same high standards as our internal factories. Prior to engaging with a manufacturing partner as a new supplier or when adding a new or expanded manufacturing line, TI performs an extensive assessment. This includes a review of the machine capability and maintenance, process documentation and control, training and certification of personnel, Process FMEA's, as well as many other areas. Detailed project management methodology is utilized to drive projects to a timely completion. TI encourages each manufacturing partner to pursue outside certification to drive improvements in their quality system.

Additionally, we drive many of our internal factories' quality system practices into our external partners. Periodic business reviews are held to review progress to key metrics including customer quality and delivery. Joint corrective action plans are agreed upon to drive resolution and continuous improvements.

10.0 Conclusion

We hope you have found this handbook helpful in describing TI's commitment to Quality and Reliability. If you have any questions please contact TI through the Product Information Center at www.ti.com. In the meantime, we hope you continue to enjoy excellent quality and superior reliability.

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